This is Me¿Now [Cloud Galaxy Vinyl] [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]

by Jennifer Lopez

Overview

A sequel two decades in the making, This Is Me¿Now finds Jennifer Lopez returning to the territory she first explored on This Is Me¿Then: namely, grappling with the strong emotions generated by her relationship with Ben Affleck. Lopez wrote and recorded This Is Me¿Then while in the throes of her romance with the actor, releasing the album in November 2002 at what turned out to be roughly the midpoint of their initial union. By early 2004, their engagement was severed. The next two decades were filled with high-profile love affairs by both parties -- they each started families with subsequent spouses -- but the pair reconnected in 2021, leading to marriage in July 2022. This Is Me¿Now chronicles this rekindling, and in no small way: the record is accompanied by a full-length film featuring a music video for each of the album's 13 songs, plus there's a documentary called "The Greatest Love Story Never Told," which borrows its name from a series of love letters written by Affleck to Lopez. Separating the album This Is Me¿Now from its two interlocking films isn't quite as difficult as it seems. Where the visual components are rife with celebrity cameos -- Jane Fonda appears in both, while the film finds space for Post Malone, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Trevor Noah, and Sofia Vergara, among others -- the album is relatively streamlined and sleek, containing no guest appearances and showing no overt attempts at chasing trends. While she enlists collaborators with impressive contemporary credits -- Roget Chahayed executive-produced Jack Harlow's Come Home the Kids Miss You and produced Doja Cat's "Vegas" -- she's intent on having This Is Me¿Now be an answer record to This Is Me¿Then, so it's filled with callbacks to glitzy Y2K pop: "Hearts and Flowers" goes so far as to interpolate "Jenny from the Block," the signature hit from Then. Lopez may be looking back but she's not attempting to re-create the past so much as strengthen the bond between two periods of her life that clearly mirror each other; she underscores the connection by delivering "Dear Ben, Pt. 2," an explicit response to an album cut 20 years prior. Occasionally, Lopez lets herself show signs of vocal wear -- she lets her voice crack on the austere ballad "Broken Like Me" -- but her maturation is evident in how she keeps returning to self-help empowerment throughout the album. Almost all of these words are directed to herself and Affleck -- on "Hummingbird," she proclaims, "'Cause you help me be the best version of me/And all I wanna do is help you be the best version of you," while "This Time Around" declares "We're gonna put the house in both our names" -- with a frankness that's simultaneously admirable and slightly alienating. Lopez is so intent on preserving the moment that her love for Affleck reignited that she ended up finding no space for ambiguity or interpretation, a decision that can make This Is Me¿Now seem slightly cloistered. In its unapologetic candor, however, it stands as something of a definitive document of celebrity culture in the 21st century. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/16/2024
Label:	Bmg
UPC:	4050538948004

Tracks

1. This Is Me¿Now
2. To Be Yours
3. Mad in Love
4. Can't Get Enough
5. not.going.anywhere.
6. Rebound
7. Dear Ben, Pt. II
8. Hummingbird
9. Hearts and Flowers
10. Broken Like Me
11. This Time Around
12. Midnight Trip to Vegas
13. Greatest Love Story Never Told

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jennifer Lopez   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Davide Rossi   Strings
Jeff Gitelman   Synthesizer Bass,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Bass,Piano,Keyboards
Ben Affleck   Vocals (Background)
Trevor Muzzy   Vocals (Background)
David Rossi   Strings
Stevie Mackey   Vocals (Background)
Sidnie Tipton   Vocals (Background)
Kaydence   Vocals (Background)
Dougie F   Vocals (Background)
Jae Stephens   Vocals (Background)
Jesse McGinty   Horn
Jessica Agombar   Vocals (Background)
Rayven Tyler   Vocals (Background)
Bryan Page   Strings
Ashley Woods   Vocals (Background)
Dougie   Vocals (Background)
Chaka Khan   Vocals
RAYE   Vocals (Background)
Ink   Vocals (Background)
Faangs   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Troy Oliver   Composer
Julian Vasquez   Engineer
Bonnie Bramlett   Composer
Lawrence Parker   Composer
Fernando Arbex   Composer
Alton Ellis   Composer
David Styles   Composer
Dennis Coffey   Composer
Samuel Barnes   Composer
Justin Timberlake   Composer
Jennifer Lopez   Composer,Producer
DJ Scott La Rock   Composer
Yeti Beats   Producer
Andrew Neely   Composer
Jason Phillips   Composer
Hit-Boy   Producer
T-Minus   Composer,Producer
Bernard Harvey   Composer
Jason Desrouleaux   Composer
Trevor Muzzy   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Jose Fernando Arbex Miro   Composer
Carter Lang   Composer,Producer
Melissa Storwick   Composer
Roget Chahayed   Composer,Producer
Scott Storch   Composer
Christopher Dotson   Composer
Uforo Ebong   Composer
Madison Love   Composer
Rachel Keen   Composer
Atia Boggs   Composer
Jae Stephens   Composer
David Sprecher   Composer
Tay Keith   Composer,Producer
Ignacio Portales   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Sam Wish   Producer
Douglas Ford   Composer
James Lavigne   Composer
G.Ry   Producer
Dave Kutch   Engineer,Mastering
Ryan Prieur   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Timothy Mosley   Composer
Michael Pollack   Composer
Angel Lopez   Composer,Producer
Chris Isaak   Composer
Chris Godbey   Mixing
Jean-Claude Olivier   Composer
Leon Russell   Composer
Jeff Gitelman   Composer,Producer
Andrew Wansel   Composer
Federico Vindver   Composer,Producer
Andre Deyo   Composer
Ryan Martinez   Composer
Chauncey Hollis   Composer
Kurtis McKenzie   Composer,Producer
Patrizio Pigliapoco   Mixing
Pop Wansel   Producer
Wesley Singerman   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Bongo By the Way   Producer
Alexis Boyd   Composer
Bongo ByTheWay   Producer
Michael Oliviere   Composer
Kim Krysiuk   Composer
Brandon Riester   Producer
Harv   Producer
Jessica Agombar   Composer